Disappointed in SACD player


Well, there I was yesterday. At the chain store who Sony has designated as their retail point of attack for SACD in the Philadelphia, PA region. Tweeter, formerly known as Bryn Mawr Stereo and Video. Formerly, Bryn Mawr Stereo(but we all know what happened there). Since my recent misfortunes with CD players, I was considering a jump to a Sony SACD player. One thing about Sony, their stuff is reliable. I found one player, the 5 disc changer. It was hooked up in a HT setup. Not even prominently. There was also another CD player in this system, along with a DVD-V player. As no salesman came into the room, I didn't pursue. I found no other player in the store. Finally, when we were looking at tv's, someone asked us if we needed help. I asked about SACD, and was told two players were on display. I asked to see the one that I didn't see. I was taken to a wall of DVD players, and sure enough, the ES9000 was there. Not hooked up, sitting there like all of the other DVD players. And in fact, THAT IS HOW THIS STORE IS MARKETING IT. As a DVD player! The guy gave me the big spiel on it, from a DVD perspective. 12 bit scan, instead of 10, etc., etc., etc. All of which is meaningless to me. I am not a HT or DVD guy. I spend my time on two channel audio. The guy left me less interested in the player than when I came in. They could not even find any SACD material in the entire store. Not even a sampler. I came in wanting to be impressed, wanting to leave with the desire to buy an SACD player. Needless to say, I probably won't be buying very soon. Wasn't this supposed to be Sony's summer of all out SACD offensive? Players starting at $350(which still will probably come), creating interest with the general public and lifting the new format to something beyond the niche of the lunatic fringe. As it is now, it is not even as recognizable as DAT, and miles behind MD(which was very prominent in the store). Both of which are monumental flops in the words of Sony.
trelja
Tweeter's sales people have always been totally clueless, so do not let their stupidity stop you.
Thanks to all for the lucid responses. You are all correct about everything you all said regarding Tweeter and the superiority of SACD. I guess the point I am stuck on is the fact that this format is NOT trickling down to mass or even mid fi. Unless they do a better job with this, and soon, the survivability of the format will be in jeopardy. It is in real danger of becoming the next good idea from Sony which dies an early death. There is not an endless supply of money(in terms of hardware, software, marketing, etc.) that companies other than Sony and Philips will put towards SACD.
At Tower Records in downtown Toronto (Queen and Yonge Sts.) just inside the front door there is a section of "hi-end audio" cd's that has both SACD and DVD-A software featured. Almost everything that has been advertised in the magazines is offered, but there appears to be little turnover...so little that the prices have been reduced by one-third this past month (June). No other stores even know of the existence of SACD! If the software is not moving the players will die an early death on the clearout shelf. Recently I corresponed with a Sonic Frontires marketing person who said that they were not going to come out with an SACD unit...digital was too tough in this area given the price margin reductions by (especially) Sony. Sadly, SACD, IMO, will wither on the vine.
Stereokarter, you touched on the point I keep forgetting to include in this thread. Outside of our community, no one in the record stores is even familiar with SACD(or DVD-A). So, what I am saying in a nutshell is the following two things. First, for the past year+ I have struck out with virtually all of the salespeople at all of the record stores in one of the major metropolitan regions of the USA regarding SACD software. And secondly, all but the same happened in the retail outlet Sony has designated for the hardware. No software + no hardware = a disaster in the making. How long will it be before we start reading about SACD(and/or DVD-A) in the past tense? Come on Sony, I am ready to buy. Are you ready to sell?
I "test drove" the sony 333es 5 disc sacd player with regular discs using all solid state Mcintosh gear, and, frankly, I am not impressed. Maybe when other manufacturers start making sacd, then I might be suade since I've never been a fan of the "Sony" sound.